The Time He Looked Like a Jerk

My husband is the most chivalrous man I know (he learned it from his father).

He’s the type of guy that will ALWAYS open every.single.door (car included) for me.

But the other day, he looked like the biggest jerk.

In his defense though, it wasn’t his fault. I made him look like that.

Let me explain… We needed to go to Target to get some baby bottles. I told Blake I didn’t want him to help me with the baby because I needed to learn how to “go out” by myself. Since I’m a stay-at-home-mom, I’m going to want/have to get out of the house with Emmy. I’ll also have to run a lot of errands without my husband since he has a demanding schedule with med school (and this is only the beginning). I did, however, want B to “chaperone” me just in case I really needed his help! =P

So… I drove the three of us to Target. One tip I’ve received is always park next to the cart return. (Vanessa, if you’re reading this, your mom taught me that!) That way, you don’t have to lug the car seat alllll the way back to your car. So that’s just what I did. We got out of the car and I went to take Emmalyn out, while Blake just idly stood by. There actually weren’t any carts in the cart return, so I had to carry the car seat all the way into Target.

This made B pretty uncomfortable (and me laugh out loud) because people were already staring at him. They were probably thinking, Look at that guy–he’s not helping his young wife with their new baby?! We get inside Target and I go to put the car seat in the cart. I don’t know about your local Target carts, but the car seat doesn’t exactly fit perfectly. I kept finagling it around and was asking B if it looked okay. He was using hand gestures to try and show me what to do, but didn’t physically help me…. so, again… we got even more stare-downs.

It was so important to me, though, that I stayed Little Miss Independent. If B helped me, how was I to know if I were able to do this by myself, right? Trying to see over Em’s car seat was actually the most challenging, y’all! My five-foot-two body could just barely see over the top and I was worried I was going to run over a small child or old lady, or maybe even a display. That would be sooo embarrassing!

When it came time to check out, Blake STILL didn’t help me. I put all the bags in the cart and made sure to get out my sunglasses and keys before heading out the door. I was trying my best to think ahead. This was the part I was most nervous about… How was I going to get the bags and baby in the car, AND return the cart?

This is where parking by the cart return comes in handy. First, I put all the bags in the trunk. I then made the mistake of taking Emmy out of the cart next. This made it difficult to return the cart because I only had one readily available hand and had to maneuver it around without hitting my car. What I should have done was stroll the cart to the return, THEN take the car seat out. (Rookie…)

Next, I put Emmy in the car, but Blake did have to remind me to push down the handle bar (whoops…thanks, babe!)

All in all, though, it was a huge success, I’d say! Since I was on a roll, I even went to get gas afterwards. Normally, I lock all the doors when I’m by myself, but this time I kept the driver’s door open. Even though I had the keys in my hand, I still had a fear that if I shut the driver’s door it would somehow magically lock and my keys wouldn’t work! (mommy paranoia much?)

Even when we got home, B still didn’t help me. I brought Emmy into the house first (and left her in the car seat), then propped the door open so I could carry in the bags, then took Indy outside.

The. End.

*phew*

Are any of you seasoned mommas reminiscing about your first outing with a baby? Was it anything like mine? A success? Or maybe a complete ‘mom FAIL’? Do tell.

14 Replies to “The Time He Looked Like a Jerk”

First- I too have the Vera baby bag, in a different pattern though. LOVE!

Second- I made my first solo outing with the babe to Starbucks (I was clearly excited to have a real coffee again…!). I didn't want to take the whole stroller in and of course I didn't have a shopping cart to put her carseat on…which was totally cool with me because babies are sooo light and it looked like just carrying the carseat would be a breeze! WRONG! I didn't even get from the car to the shop before I had to "take a break"…aka, putting the carseat down for a sec to switch arms. Rookie mistake! Why do they make those things so frickin heavy?! 😉

Love your "jerk" story! Doesn't it feel so good to get that first trip outta the way?

I would totally plan out to the minute how the loading/unloading would go! I have no experience, but I'm sure you did great!And I was laughing when you mentioned poor Blake getting stared down by everyone! haha I'm sure he took it like a champ, though!

I learned the park-next-to-the-cart-return late in the game. That's a smart trick though. Did you consider putting the car seat in the cart? That worked for me if I wasn't buying a lot of things. Those Target carts are a little high anyways. I always feel 4 feet tall when I push those things.

I don't remember my first trip out, but I remember her crying in the car and I had to pull off on an exit ramp to assess the situation. I also remember stressing out in the check out line because she was crying really hard. she was tiny at the time, so her cry was soft, but it seemed so loud to me that I thought people in the entire store could hear the poor girl. I also remember clicking her into the base only to find out when I got home that the base was not buckled into the car. I have no idea how that happened, but it did, and I felt like a horrible mom. 🙁

Love the park-next-to-the-cart-return trick!!! I am definitely stealing it! And you go girl for doing it all on your own! I have thought quite a few times about our (the girly and I) first trips out together, especially since it's winter, cold, and icy out there. I'm a bit stressed out about it, but there's proof that I can do it! The two of you look adorable by the way!